Heroes!

Yūki raised his hand.

"I enter the Battle Phase."

"Elemental HERO Stratos, attack directly."

The propulsion wings on Elemental HERO Stratos's back spread with a roar.

Wind blades condensed into two streaks of pale blue light between his arms.

He shot into the air, traced an arc, and dove straight down from the front.

"Hero Blast!"

Two wind blades blasted toward Tachibana Shingo.

Tachibana Shingo raised his arms in front of himself.

The holographic impact struck.

[Tachibana Shingo LP: 4000 → 1800]

Gasps erupted across the stands.

Twenty-two hundred points of damage.

Tachibana Shingo's Life Points had plunged to eighteen hundred in one blow.

Yūki pointed at Sunrise.

"Sunrise, attack directly."

A golden sun swelled behind Sunrise.

Tachibana Shingo's expression changed.

Twenty-nine hundred ATK.

If this hit landed, the match would end right there.

"Reveal my face-down card!"

Tachibana Shingo flipped his final back-row card.

"I activate the Normal Trap Card, Sakuretsu Armor!"

A suit of heavy black armor rose from the back row.

Its plates spread to either side, forming a massive mechanical clamp that closed in on Sunrise.

"When an opponent's monster declares an attack, I can activate this card by targeting that attacking monster."

"Destroy that monster!"

Sunrise had only just raised his energy blade when the black armor clamped onto his shoulders.

Crack!

The armor snapped shut.

The golden light around Sunrise was crushed apart, and the hero's hologram shattered into countless red fragments that vanished into the air.

[Elemental HERO Sunrise was destroyed]

The female commentator blurted out.

"Sakuretsu Armor!"

"Tachibana's final face-down card destroyed Sunrise at the critical moment!"

The male commentator immediately shouted after her.

"But Elemental HERO Stratos has already dealt twenty-two hundred damage, leaving Tachibana with only eighteen hundred LP!"

"Although he survived this turn, Fujiwara has already turned the field around!"

Tachibana Shingo watched the fading motes of light left by Sunrise and moved his hand away from the edge of his Duel Disk.

He had never expected this.

That morning, he had still been guarding against Lava Golem.

That afternoon, he had been guarding against Needle Worm, hand destruction, and Gravity Bind.

Then Yūki had pulled out a HERO Deck.

And this HERO Deck could actually get going, actually control the field, and actually force him down to eighteen hundred in a single turn.

Yūki glanced at his now-empty Fusion Monster Zone.

Sunrise had been blown up.

But that was no big problem.

He still had two copies of Polymerization and two copies of Miracle Fusion in his hand, and Elemental HERO Neos was already in the Graveyard.

He still had resources.

The HERO Deck had finally gotten rolling.

"End of the Battle Phase."

Yūki placed a Spell Card into his Duel Disk.

"I activate the Spell Card, Swords of Revealing Light."

An enormous golden sword descended from the sky, its blade plunging into the center of the main arena.

Ancient patterns were engraved along the blade.

A curtain of light spread outward from the hilt like a huge transparent wall, enclosing Tachibana Shingo's Monster Zones.

"After this card is activated, it remains on the field."

"Counting your turns, it won't be destroyed until the End Phase three turns from now."

"As long as Swords of Revealing Light remains, your monsters cannot declare attacks."

Yūki looked at Tachibana Shingo.

"Your move, Shingo."

Tachibana Shingo's expression finally turned grim.

He now had eighteen hundred LP.

He had no monsters on the field.

Swords of Revealing Light had also sealed off his attacks.

Even if he drew a Dinosaur next turn, he would first have to face the Elemental HERO Stratos on Yūki's field.

Although Sakuretsu Armor had dealt with Sunrise,

as long as Yūki fused an even trickier HERO monster next turn, he would be left in an extremely unfavorable position.

The female commentator gazed at the three white swords of light embedded in the arena floor.

"The situation has reversed."

"Although Tachibana destroyed Sunrise with Sakuretsu Armor, Swords of Revealing Light has already sealed off attack declarations."

"For the next three turns, Tachibana will have a hard time pressuring Fujiwara through battle."

The male commentator looked at the cards remaining in Yūki's hand.

"And Fujiwara still has fusion resources in his hand."

"If he can perform another Fusion Summon next turn, Tachibana could be in serious danger!"

At the center of the main arena, the enormous golden sword stood between the two of them.

On Yūki's field, Elemental HERO Stratos's propulsion wings were still spinning.

Tachibana Shingo glanced at his remaining eighteen hundred LP, then at the cards in Yūki's hand.

The Championship Match had only just entered its second turn.

But he had already realized something.

The person he faced might never have been a duelist who only knew how to use obnoxious decks.

Tachibana Shingo placed his hand on his deck.

"My turn. Draw!"

The card slid into his hand.

He lowered his head for a glance, and his fingers stopped.

His field was empty, though he did have monsters in his hand.

But Swords of Revealing Light stood in the middle of the field, its golden curtain of light covering his Monster Zones.

Even if he summoned a Dinosaur, he could not turn things around through battle.

In the audience, the male competitor from City First Middle School scratched his head anxiously.

"Shingo can't even attack now. How is he supposed to play?"

The female competitor stared at Elemental HERO Stratos on Yūki's field.

"The real problem is that Fujiwara Yūki can keep fusing next turn."

"Those cards in his hand are definitely more serious trouble."

At her words, several eliminated competitors around them all nodded.

Yūki had already taught them a conditioned response.

When anyone else kept three cards in their hand, those were resources.

When Yūki kept three cards in his hand, that was a crime scene.

Tachibana Shingo raised his head.

"I Normal Summon Swordhorned Dragon in Attack Position!"

The Monster Card slid into his Duel Disk.

A long fissure split the projected ground of the main arena, and rubble rolled to either side.

A towering dinosaur burst out from beneath the earth, its powerful hind legs crushing chunks of rock, its back covered in gray-brown horny armor.

He raised his head.

Two long, narrow horns extended forward from his forehead, their edges gleaming with a cold, metallic sheen.

Swordhorned Dragon opened his mouth and roared, his sharp teeth flashing white beneath the arena lights.

[Swordhorned Dragon, ATK 1900]

The male commentator immediately picked up.

"Swordhorned Dragon! A Level 4 Dinosaur Normal Monster with nineteen hundred ATK!"

"Even though he cannot attack, Tachibana has still summoned a high-ATK low-level monster to hold the field!"

The female commentator nodded.

"As long as he can outlast the lock from Swords of Revealing Light, Swordhorned Dragon will have a chance to work with the Dinosaurs that follow and regain control."

Tachibana Shingo looked at Swordhorned Dragon on his field.

Nineteen hundred ATK.

Among Level 4 monsters, that was a solid number.

After Sunrise's destruction, Yūki's Elemental HERO Stratos had returned to 1800 ATK and could no longer simply attack over him.

"I end my turn."

Tachibana Shingo lowered his hand.

He had done everything he could to hold the situation together.

Swords of Revealing Light had a time limit, and Yūki's fusion resources would run out eventually.

Just hold on for one more turn.

Just get through this turn.

It was Yūki's turn.

"My turn. Draw!"

The card landed in his palm.

Once Yūki saw its name, the corner of his mouth twitched.

This card had arrived at just the right time.

He had just used Elemental HERO Stratos to get his HERO engine running, finally giving the pile of Fusion Spells in his hand a use.

Yet despite Swords of Revealing Light, Tachibana Shingo had willingly slapped down a Swordhorned Dragon with nineteen hundred ATK.

This core disciple of the Dinosaur school clearly had yet to realize something.

Against HEROes, high-ATK monsters could sometimes become bundles of experience points.

Yūki pulled out a Monster Card.

"It's over."

Tachibana Shingo looked up.

The commentators outside the field froze for a moment too.

Over?

Yūki only had Elemental HERO Stratos on his field, with eighteen hundred ATK.

Tachibana Shingo had Swordhorned Dragon, with nineteen hundred ATK.

Although Yūki still had four thousand Life Points while Tachibana had only eighteen hundred,

judging by the field, Yūki had the advantage.

But surely they were still a long way from calling it "over"?

Yūki slapped the Monster Card into his Duel Disk.

"I Normal Summon Elemental HERO Clayman!"

Earthen-yellow lines of light lit up across the Duel Disk.

The ground at the edge of the field churned, and a huge mass of brown clay emerged from underground, growing larger as it rolled.

The clay's surface rapidly hardened into thick, earthen-yellow armor.

A powerfully built hero rose from the mud.

His arms were exaggeratedly thick, and his shoulder armor was wide enough to hide half a person.

Clayman planted his feet on the ground, raised a fist, and struck his breastplate with a dull thud.

[Elemental HERO Clayman, ATK 800]

The stands fell silent for two seconds.

The male competitor from City First Middle School was the first to lose his composure.

"Eight hundred?"

"Why did Fujiwara Yūki summon a monster with eight hundred attack points?"

Someone beside him added quietly.

"Swordhorned Dragon has nineteen hundred, and Elemental HERO Stratos has eighteen hundred. That Clayman of his couldn't even block one of Swordhorned Dragon's horns, could it?"

Kurosawa Kōshin frowned.

He didn't understand it either.

Clayman had very high defense and was indeed suited to holding the field.

But Tachibana Shingo was currently restricted by Swords of Revealing Light and couldn't attack at all.

Yūki surely hadn't summoned Clayman at this point just to put another HERO on display.

Jaden, however, leaned over the railing, his eyes shining as if he had just drawn Polymerization.

"Yūki's going to fuse!"

Sato Renshan looked at the cards in Yūki's hand.

He suddenly remembered the Spell Card Yūki had searched for when Sunrise appeared.

Sure enough.

Yūki pulled out a Spell Card and placed it into his Duel Disk.

"I activate the Spell Card, Miracle Fusion!"

A projection of a Spell Card bearing a multicolored vortex rose into view.

The light above the field began to converge, forming a constantly spinning fusion vortex.

"Miracle Fusion's effect lets me banish Fusion Material monsters from my field and Graveyard to Fusion Summon an Elemental HERO Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck!"

The male commentator abruptly sat up straight.

"Another Fusion Summon!"

The female commentator stared at the big screen.

"Fujiwara has Elemental HERO Clayman on his field, and in his Graveyard is Elemental HERO Neos, who was sent there earlier as Fusion Material for Sunrise!"

Yūki raised his hand.

"I banish Elemental HERO Clayman from my field and Elemental HERO Neos from my Graveyard!"

Clayman raised both fists.

On the other side, a phantom image of Elemental HERO Neos flew out of the Graveyard zone, tracing a bright trail above the field.

The two heroes flew toward the fusion vortex together.

The light swallowed their figures.

Jaden was already standing on his chair.

"Yes! That's it!"

Sato Renshan raised a hand and pushed him back into his seat.

"Sit down and watch!"

"I Fusion Summon!"

Yūki swept his right hand forward.

"The earth answers the hero's call!"

"Come forth, Elemental HERO Terra Firma!"